Early-age thermal stress analysis of concrete

Abstract

Early-age thermal cracking is major concern in massive concrete elements, which is associated with heat of cement hydration and time dependent material properties at early age. The key point is to predict the risk of cracking in mass concreting using reliable material models and methods for analysis. Therefore, three main factors to be considered in thermal stress analysis are temperature development in the concrete being cast, mechanical and thermal behavior of the young concrete and the degree of restraint imposed on the concrete. A new method has been devised to measure the thermal properties of concrete at early-age. Further, with the early age properties, a transient coupled thermal stress analysis (ABAQUS) was performed to predict the temperature and stress development for an actual raft foundation. The conclusion of this study demonstrates the importance of implementing time dependent material properties for temperature development and its significance for accurate thermal stress analysis.